For the Love of Words

I've never been a morning person. Yet, I can go from dead asleep to reading in about thirty seconds flat. It's because I love to read.

When my children were young and in school, and I was working outside of my home, I got up around 5am so that I could drink a cup of coffee and read the paper, beginning to end, uninterrupted. It was my way of easing into the day, and by the time everyone in my house was awake, I was alert and up on all the current events. Except when the delivery person didn't get my paper here on time. Then I'd have to read something else, and that was OK, too, because I had plenty of books and magazines stacked up to be read.

Now there's an online source for local news in addition to the regular media outlets. http://www.msdigitaldaily.com/ launched today, and my blog is in it! It can be found on the OPINION page. That excites me more than you'll ever know. Now Who-Knows-How-Many can read about our crazy life! It's the power of the internet, but more importantly...it's the power of Words.

I joined a book club in the early fall and I've been reading like crazy since then. I read the selection of the month and usually one or two more books each month. We have lots of lively discussion in our group, and it's all led up to this past weekend when ten of us went to a book club convention of sorts in the quaint little town of Jefferson, Texas.

Girlfriend Weekend was started ten years ago by Kathy Patrick, who owns a combination beauty shop/book store in Jefferson called Beauty and the Book. She is also the founder of the Pulpwood Queens, a book club that met in her shop. Before long, there were spin-off clubs and now she has chapters worldwide. (http://www.pulpwoodqueen.com/) She later wrote a book, The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing GUIDE TO LIFE. Our group, the BB Queens, is a chapter of the Pulpwood Queens. So, off we went to the tenth anniversary of Girlfriend Weekend, where we had a ball! (Of course, any time women get together wearing tiaras and boas, a good time is had by all...just ask my friend Jill Conner Browne!)

Jefferson has about 40 bed and breakfast inns, and we stayed in the Old Mulberry Inn, although most of our time was spent in Jefferson's new civic center with women from other bookclubs and AUTHORS, who were invited to come and talk about their books, their writing routines, and whatever else they wanted to talk about. I bought a ton of books, because all the authors were signing them, and I can't resist a personalized signed copy of a book, especially when I've heard the author read from it.

 One of the highlights of the weekend was a panel discussion with best selling author Pat Conroy (The Great Santini, Prince of Tides, South of Broad, etc...)and his daughter, Melissa Conroy, and up-and-coming children's book writer. They were discussing her book, Poppy's Pants, written about Conroy and his endless supply of khaki pants. It was sweet to hear him talk so fondly of his daughter, but tempering it with "grouchy grandfather" stories about his seven grandchildren! Conroy was the keynote speaker at the luncheon on Saturday, where he spoke to a roomful of adoring fans (including plenty of other authors!)

for over an hour. He entertained us with stories about how he stumbled into the publishing world (he wasn't born a best-selling author!), stories of his childhood, stories about practical jokes with his best friend and sister, and touching stories, including the fond memories of his mother reading books to him as a child. "When I'm reading over my manuscripts, it's still her voice I hear."  He was fun and entertaining, as good ol' boy Southern storytellers tend to be, and it was a real treat for us.

Then each night it was time to strap on the boas and tiaras...Friday night we had a "Barbie Ball," celebrating Barbie's 50th birthday. Everyone dressed up like their favorite Barbie, or as the Barbie they'd like to see.

 Merilee Hall and Theresa Reed dressed up as "Pajama Party Barbie." The next night was the "Big Ball of Hair Ball," with a Wizard of Oz theme to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the movie. There were some very creative costumes, like this mother and daughter Munchkin duo. They rocked it out on the dancefloor to "She's a Brick House." That was worth the trip...they were hysterical!

I had a little Barbie lunch pail that served as a fun accessory (my purse!) as well as coming in very handy for the Barbie Ball...

It's always good to get away on a girls' weekend to recharge your batteries, open your eyes to new experiences, and to bond with other incredible women. That's exactly what I did, and here are some of the witty, intelligent, caring, fun, friendly, creative and fabulous women I spent my weekend with:

While I was away, Nicole had some promo shots taken...this is my favorite. A quick update on her therapy program...she "graduated" from outpatient rehab, and is now in the Methodist Rehab QUEST program, which focuses on independent living skills. She had her first full day there today (I feel like it's the first day of school!). She'll go to QUEST three days a week. She's still working out with Eclecius (in the basement of the Fondren building) five days a week, and soon she'll be in a dance class, if all goes as planned. Nicole's still persuing a career in motivational/'inspirational speaking. Tomorrow, as a matter of fact, she'll be speaking at the Professional Women's Association luncheon at River Hills Country Club. Her message is a strong one! For more information about Nicole, check out her website (which is a work in progress!): http://www.youcantstopthisdancer.com/

It's nice to know that her life is back on track in such a positive way, and I can resume mine...writing, reading and spending an occassional weekend with the girls!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan

Girl Trip!!!!!

I'm sitting here with Revlon #42 on my head (red by choice!) counting down the hours until I am in the car on my way to Jefferson, Texas. Fellow BB Queens (book club members) Jonni and Leslie are swinging by around 11am to pick me up. They won't hardly have to slow down. Just pull up in the circular driveway and I'll throw my bags in the car, jump in and we'll be ON THE ROAD!!!

When I was growing up, moms didn't go on girl's trips--or I don't recall any conversation about such when they gathered for coffee. But back in my day, not many of the moms worked outside of the home. Today, it seems like just about everyone I know has a group of girlfriends who take a girls' trip at some point each year. These are all hard-working women who are dedicated to their husbands, children, jobs, civic work, church work, etc... Taking off for a few days with the girls is a great way to decompress...and to recharge.

One of my most memorable girl trips was to Destin several years ago. Nine of us, in three cars, took off on a three-day adventure in early February. The holidays behind us, kids back in school, it was the perfect time to go spend a few days of fun together.

We stayed in Jacqui's big, beautiful condo (that was back before the D-I-V-O-R-C-E...). We cooked, ate, sipped wine, talked, laughed, watched movies, slept a little, shopped and generally had a happy, relaxing time. Just spending so much uninterrupted time together was wonderful...no rushing home to the kids, no demands...no pressure. Just a chance to put our feet up, let our hair down and say or do whatever we wanted. We got to know each other better, create stronger bonds and develop stronger friendships--things that were difficult to do back home due to our busy, active lives.

The trip I'm taking this weekend is a little different. There's a reason for the gathering--it's a book conference, attended by members of book clubs around the country as well as by several authors. There will be panel discussions, workshops, and a fair share of fun. Called "Girlfriend's Weekend," it's the biggest event every year in quaint little Jefferson, Texas--a town that doesn't have a single hotel! We'll all be staying in the many bed and breakfast inns in and around Jefferson. I'm most excited about the luncheon with author Pat Conroy tomorrow.

This is a turning point for our family right now as well...Larry will be working, so Nicole will be "on her own" for much of the weekend. She's ready. As a matter of fact, she "graduated" yesterday...it was her last day at Methodist Rehab Center's outpatient therapy clinic. They surprised her with a beautiful (and delicious!) cake:

We ate some before anyone  thought to take a picture!

And just like it's been since the time of her accident, the media was there to cover this milestone. Stephanie Bell Flynt from WLBT news interviewed both Nicole and me and the story aired on the 4pm and 10pm news yesterday. Nicole's story has been reported on WLBT's Medical Matters since her return to Mississippi, a month after her accident. To see her stories, log on to wlbt.com and click on the Medical Matters link at the top of the home page.

Time to go rinse the color off my head...no one will be able to criticize me for having gray roots, not that I really care. In an hour and a half, me and my newly-red hair will be on the road for a weekend of friends and fun!

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan

Can you dig it?

So much of what I learn happens in gatherings of women. Last night, I attended two gatherings. The first was the bookclub I've been a member of for about five months. I've LOVED it!

The ladies in the bookclub call themselves the BB Queens, and they wear tiaras. From the beginning, that appealed to me. There are about 30 women in the club, from all professions and walks of life. It's a lively, interesting group. The group is a chapter of the Pulpwood Queens, based in Jefferson, Texas. A crazy redhead hairdresser started it all about ten years ago from her beauty parlor/bookstore. Appropriately, it's called "Beauty and the Book." There are now chapters all over the United States! Check it out at http://www.beautyandthebook.com/ These wonderful women have taken me under their wing and provided me with a monthly night out, which was sorely needed after the past year. They are even packing me up and taking me with them to Jefferson this weekend for the annual "Girlfriend Weekend," which is a conference for readers and writers. I'm particularly excited about the luncheon with author Pat Conroy on Friday. We read his book "South of Broad" recently and it made me want to visit Charleston, South Carolina really bad.

We had a delayed Christmas party last night, and played "Dirty Santa" with books from our own bookshelves at home. It was impressive to hear the squeals of delight when each book was opened. Cries of "I love that author!" or, "You're gonna love that book!" rang out. These women are READERS and they know their authors well. It's great to be around fun, intellegent women and I can't wait for our weekend getaway!



After the bookclub, I made it back to my own 'hood, where a new garden club has formed. I have lived in my house for 14 years, and in all that time there has been no garden club. Leave it to a newcomer to the 'hood to stir things up. Now we have a garden club, bunco group, day trippin' group, luncheon group...it's amazing how women love to get together for just about any reason!

I'm the program chairman of the garden club, and last night I was patting myself on the back after hearing Ben Profilet talk to us about things we can do to our yards now to make them more beautiful in the spring and summer. He "dumbed it down" for us when necessary, but again, the women in the group amazed me with their extensive knowledge of gardening. For awhile, it was almost a game of "stump the presentor," but I'll give it to Ben, he handled it well and in the end, he really knew his stuff. He has a passion for gardening that is contagious. I learned alot in the hour and a half I sat listening to the program (he could have gone on all night, and many of those in attendance seemed like they were ready to question him all night).

I'm so thankful that opportunites for knowledge sharing and idea exchanges exist here for me. From professional groups like the Professional Women's Association, to more informal groups like the BB Queens book club and the Whisper Lake garden club, I take something away each time I attend--not to mention the wonderful, supportive friendships that develop along the way.

Now I have to put what I've learned into practice!

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan